Stand Of Honor (13 page)

Melanie touched her face with her hand.
“Just when I press on it. It’s not too bad.” She sighed. “After your fight tonight, we can start working on what I did wrong.” Zane started to reply, but Melanie stopped him. “Not now! I want you to focus on your fight. We can work on me when we get back in the gym.”

Zane laughed
. “I’m ready for tonight. I’ve been ready for a while now.”

Melanie rolled her eyes.
“You’re so fucking cocky!”

“It’s confidence, not cockiness
, Melanie,” Zane smugly replied as he tugged at her hair, pulling her in for a deep kiss.

When she
moved over to straddle his body, he raised up on his elbows, taking a pink nipple into his mouth. Zane could feel her body responding as she moaned, sucking on her nipple harder. Her tits were so sensitive, he could make her come just by playing with them, but he decided to stop for now. He could fuck her all morning, however his fight was the first of the evening, and he had to meet Lincoln in less than an hour at the gym.

“Sorry
, sexy. We’ll have to pick this up later tonight,” Zane pulled back, releasing the now rosy nub. He watched as Melanie snapped back to reality.

“What the hell
?” she grouched, pretending to pout without being able to hide her sunny smile. She leaned forward to rub her breasts in his face again before getting up. Zane laughed, smacking her ass.

“I’ll make you pay for that tonight
,” Zane threatened.

She
lay back in the bed and admired his naked ass as he walked to his dresser. He peered back at her before opening his dresser drawer. She was propped up on the pillows with her hair falling around her shoulders, the sheet right below her tits. She looked so sexy to him that he almost changed his mind about fucking her. He glanced at his watch and knew he would be late if he gave in and crawled back in bed.

“I’m going to meet
Linc at the gym and then head to the arena. I should be there around three since the fight is at four.” As Zane went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, he could see Melanie’s reflection in the mirror.

“Okay.
I’m meeting Trish for lunch and she’s coming with me to watch your and Nick’s fights. I’m going to stop by and see Nick at the gym this afternoon. His fight is a couple hours after yours. I’m going to see how he’s doing. He’s just as cocky as you are. He’s probably still in bed right now, not even thinking about the fight.”

Zane finished brushing his teeth and went back to find a t-shirt
, putting it on before turning back to her.

“We’re the best
. What do you expect?” He asked as he went to get his gear together and put it all in his bag for the fight.

He watched Melanie shake her head in irritation.
“I wish I had some of that confidence,” she grumbled.

“Baby, we’ve been at it for years
. You’ll get there. Besides, it’s not like either of us are facing unknown opponents.” He zipped up his bag and sat on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on. When he finished, he turned and put his hands on either side of her, gazing into her eyes.

“You did fine yesterday.
You knew what you had to do to win, and when it comes down to it, that’s how you succeed. Making the best of the situation is crucial, and you’ve already got that one down. Quit being hard on yourself. You did great, okay?”

He watched some of the tension ease from her face.
“Thanks, Zane.” Melanie reached up to hold his face, gently kissing him. “I’m so happy you’re fighting again. I hate what happened to you. I can’t wait to watch your comeback tonight.”

He kissed her again.
He hadn’t felt such strong support from anyone in a long time except for Nick. It felt like his life was finally getting back on track.

“I’ll see you there,” he told her.

*
  *  *

Zane spent the morning going through some basic drills and watching the tape of Tobias’s last fight.
Tobias had won his last match, however his behavior before and after the fight was erratic. Zane was surprised he was passing the league’s drug tests.

Tobias needed this fight as much as Zane
did. The difference between them was the need for vengeance on Zane’s part. The little shit and Faye had almost destroyed his career, and if not for Melanie, he didn’t know if he would ever have given it another shot. It was time for payback. Not only for him, but for Melanie, too. Tobias had been setting Melanie up for failure, which showed that the fucker definitely had a weakness for women. Tobias had let both Faye and Macey lead him around by the nose.

“Zane, he’s ready for you,” Lincoln told him.
“Word is out that he’s been training hard for this fight. He’s not running around, stirring up shit like he usually does before a match.”

“
It doesn’t matter. The only thing I care about is trying to take him to the last round so I can beat the shit out of him for as long as I can,” Zane said, pumping himself up into a fighting frame of mind.

Linc
laughed. “Sounds like you’re ready then.”

Zane didn’t laugh with him.
He was finally back to doing what he’d loved since he had seen Nick’s father training him when they’d been just kids. It was time to get back in the cage. It was the first step in taking charge of his life again.

“Thanks for everything
, Linc.” Zane added, “I owe you.”

“Don’t forget that
, either. I’ll take you up on it eventually,” Lincoln promised.

“Anything,” Zane replied seriously.

Zane had very few people that he could count on.
For the past several years, he had kept to himself, not wanting to bring anyone into his life. He knew he was letting himself get attached to Melanie, however she would always be in danger, either in or out of his life. He would actually be able to keep a better eye on her now that they were involved. Everyone else he had been close to had always let him down, yet it was time to let the past go and look forward to the future. He was going to find a way to end his second life and take some of the worry for Melanie’s safety off his back.

Nick had shown up unexpectedly an hour ago to give his encouragement. It was a cool thing to do with his own fight ahead, and Zane appreciated his show of support.

Zane looked at the clock. The fight was in a couple hours, so it was time to head to the arena. Linc went on outside while he and Nick gathered their bags and locked the gym up. As Zane turned away from the door, he heard a woman’s voice.

“Hey
, baby.”

Zane stiffened
then looked into Faye’s deceitful, blue eyes. She was just as beautiful as when they had been together, but now he was wiser and saw only the cold, shrewd eyes staring back at him.

“I heard you were fighting tonight.
You know how much I loved watching you fight and the incredible fuc… I mean, time we had after you won.” Faye smiled seductively, glancing at Lincoln then back at Zane.

“I’ll be in the car
, Zane.” Lincoln walked to the vehicle. Nick, on the other hand, stood unashamedly listening, waiting for the show to begin.

Zane looked at her
, giving her the once over with a sneer of distaste on his mouth. She was referring to the sex they’d had after he’d won a match. She would often be as high on adrenaline as he was after a win and they had taken it out on each other in the bedroom.

“What the
fuck are you doing here?” Zane couldn’t believe she was stupid enough to show her face again.

“Zane, I was broke and desperate.
I was about to lose my car and the credit card companies were driving me crazy. I had to find a way to take care of my debt so I could be with you. I knew you were getting serious, and I didn’t want you to have to deal with my mistakes.” Faye’s eyes started to fill with tears. “I just wanted to be good for you, and start fresh with you.”

“So your way of making things right was by getting me kicked out of the league?” Zane was amazed that he hadn’t realized that Faye was short on brain cells.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen. Tobias set you up when he found out I didn’t want to be with him, that I was just using him for the money.” Faye’s explanation of her actions left a sour taste in his mouth. She placed all the blame on Tobias when he knew she had been the one to instigate the plan for him to lose the fight. Tobias might have taken it one step forward when he’d found out he was just a means to an end, however it had been Faye who had ultimately been the one to betray him.

“That’s fucking insane
, Faye. You know I would have found a way to make things right for us.” Zane thought back to the time after the fight. Faye had tried countless times to talk to him, but Zane would never listen to her. All he’d needed to know was that she had betrayed him and whatever feelings he’d had for her died. He didn’t want to hear her explanations now, either. Actions always spoke more than words in Zane’s opinion.

Now, here she was, trying to weasel her way back in now that he was fighting again.
He knew how much Faye loved being associated with a fighter, especially a winning fighter. She felt the glory as much as he did.

“Zane, you know I love you
. I’ve always loved you,” Faye pleaded with him.

“Even when you spread your legs for Tobias?”
Zane asked harshly. “Were you thinking about how much you loved me when his dick was inside of you?”

“Zane, I never slept with him.
I just made him think I would. I was just playing him for the money.”

“You’re a fucking liar, and so bad at it
that I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. Dammit, Faye, get the hell away from me. It’s over. It’s been over for a long time. You’re not only a lying, manipulative bitch, but you’re a money hungry whore that I wouldn’t let near my ride much less my dick.” Zane started to walk away. He wasn’t going to listen to anymore of her lies.

Faye grabbed his arm tightly.
“Zane, think about how happy we were, how happy we would have been. I fucked up. I know that, and I’m so sorry. I did have good intentions. I never thought you would get blamed for it.” Faye quickly continued, “I can’t wait to see you fight tonight.”

She walked around to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Remember the night after your fight against Jake? We couldn’t even make it all the way home. How you pulled over into the trees and fucked me until I screamed.” She pressed her body against him, kissing his neck.

Zane started to pull out of her hold when he heard another voice.

“Get the fuck off of him, bitch.” He looked over to see Melanie striding towards them. She walked up behind Faye, her hand going into her expensively styled hair, jerking her away from Zane.

“Now this is really going to get interesting.” Zane threw Nicholas a threatening glare at his remark. His friend was enjoying this way to
o much.

“Get off me!”
Faye was screaming as Melanie dragged her a few feet away and threw her up against the side of the building.

“Stay away from him
—he’s mine now. You come near him again, and I’ll make sure you won’t be able to walk when I’m done with you.”

Zane had never seen Melanie so angry
. He had to hide his smile at her saying he was hers now. She was a little hellion.

Faye started to regain some of her senses when she realized why she was being attacked.
“You may think you have him, but we have a long history. He knows how good we were together, don’t you, Zane?” She turned pleading eyes toward him, but Zane felt nothing other than pride at Melanie putting a stop to the woman being a pain in his ass.

Before Zane could say anything, Melanie threw him a look that dared him to speak. Zane was no fool
. He knew when to keep his mouth shut.

Faye yelped as Melanie pressed her up against the building wall with a hand at her throat.
Faye liked being with a fighter, but she was no fighter herself. Faye didn’t realize Melanie was a trained fighter and could hurt her if Melanie really wanted to. Zane could see that Melanie was holding back, though.

“There is no you and him anymore, you stupid cow. You fucked that up. He has my name on him now and I better not see you near him again. Move the fuck on and don’t look back, or the next time
, I won’t be the lady my mama taught me to be and I’ll beat the shit out of you,” Melanie growled.

She grabbed Faye’s arm
, twisting it behind her back before turning her towards the direction of the parking lot, giving her a shove, and Faye stumbled away. However, Zane had a feeling she hadn’t given up yet. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell Melanie that right now, not with that pissed off look still in her furious, green eyes.

Melanie walked back towards him with fire in her eyes.

“Now the shit’s really going to hit the fan.” When Zane took a step toward him, Nicholas raised his hands up in the air and left him to his approaching sister’s fury.

She shoved him.
“What the hell, Zane? You just stood there and let her touch you? What the fuck is wrong with you?”